12:21 AM: While the Columbia Street onramp closure happened just before 10 pm as planned, the process of fully closing the Alaskan Way Viaduct took two more hours because of an impromptu farewell party. Guardian One recorded this unique view of people driving, dancing, walking, waving, and more:
Though an officially “goodbye, Viaduct/hello, Tunnel” event is planned in three weeks, those people decided to say farewell on their own terms. Finally, just after midnight, WSDOT tweeted that “the viaduct is clear and the #Realign99 closure is officially underway!” So Highway 99 is now closed for ~3 weeks between the West Seattle Bridge and the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel. Much more coverage to come, starting later today.
8 AM: Uneventful night since then. Reminder that our traffic-cam page is here (we’ll be adding and subtracting a few this weekend, but they already have the biggies for West Seattle in/out flow). And here’s a “live” look at the eastbound bridge:
| 14 COMMENTS